Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in New Zealand
New Zealand: Annual deforestation as a share of forest area was 0.1% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in New Zealand, 1990–2020
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
New Zealand recorded 0.1% for annual deforestation as a share of forest area in 2020.
That represents a change of up 15.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual deforestation as a share of forest area in New Zealand peaked at 0.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2015.
New Zealand ranks 52nd of 105 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0.2% | — |
| 2000 | 0.2% | +10.8% |
| 2010 | 0.1% | -52.2% |
| 2015 | 0.0% | -85.4% |
| 2020 | 0.1% | +692.0% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 0.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.0%, 6.6× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 0.1% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.1%, 1.0× the median. (7 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 1 |
| 2010s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 2020s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
- 49 Panama 0.1% compare
- 50 Indonesia 0.1% compare
- 51 Central African Republic 0.1% compare
- 53 Papua New Guinea 0.1% compare
- 54 Czechia 0.1% compare
- 55 Switzerland 0.1% compare
More environment data for New Zealand
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.2131 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 1.69 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.379 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.23 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.474 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.9337 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual deforestation as a share of forest area in New Zealand?
- Annual deforestation as a share of forest area in New Zealand was 0.1% in 2020, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual deforestation as a share of forest area recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 0.2% in 2000.
- What is the lowest annual deforestation as a share of forest area recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2015.
- How does New Zealand rank for annual deforestation as a share of forest area?
- New Zealand ranks 52nd out of 105 countries with data for 2020.
- Is annual deforestation as a share of forest area rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual deforestation as a share of forest area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual deforestation as share of forest area represents the yearly percentage of forest area lost due to deforestation relative to the total forest area.